Your Goal Is To Collect and Raise Astels

Astellia is a theme-park MMORPG at its core, filled with the usual quest hub crawls from town to town, region to region until you hit the max level of 50. Along the way with your chosen class, players will collect Astels. This are tiny companions, each designed in a way that mimics a combat class. They have abilities, XP progression and Star Grades, which means they can be improved as you level up. They accompany you in your adventures and in battles, are competent with tanking, healing and DPS depending on your set up. You can have one Astel summoned always, but to bring out more depletes your AP meter, which replenishes when you go back into your Astel deck. It’s an interesting take on MMORPG combat systems, and may take some time to get used to, since players will need to juggle between firing off their own class skills and that of their Astels. However, they are very much important to the game’s main story and should be treated as an important progression mechanic throughout. In the Western version, Astels can be acquired through PvE, and they might make an appearance in the cash shop too.

Looks and Performance

Most Korean MMORPGs do pretty well when it comes to localizing the game in English for a global audience. Unfortunately, last year’s Bless Online launch on Steam left many with doubts about the future of games coming out from the East. The good news is, Astellia seem to have invested plenty into making the game enjoyable in the localization department. No typos, no grammer issues, and best part is that even the voice acting is of bearable quality. As for how the game looks overall, much of it will seem generic. That means, you’ve probably seen similar games looking like it – Blade & Soul, TERA, Ascent: Infinite Realm and Revelation Online – these are just some of the eastern MMORPGs that runs on the same engine, and unfortunately Astellia doesn’t do enough to stand out. Character models are bland, and textures on the highest graphic settings won’t blow you away if you’re expecting a gorgeous game that looks like it was made in 2019. This does not deliver there. Elsewhere, the bloom options and other graphics settings does make the world and environments pretty, and the soundtrack isn’t bad to say the least. Your mileage will vary here, and it’s down to combat and questing to convince you.

What Content Does It Offer?

Astellia does feature a main story complete with cinematics, cut-scenes and CGI scenes too. With fully voiced ones appearing once in awhile, it gives the story some sort of credence. The world is reeling from the dark turn of its greatest hero – a woman once revered for stopping the darkness, now turns to evil and once to bring vengeance upon those who treated her wrong. In her wake, Astellians are rising – people born of the stars that can command Astels to save the world. It’s a basic storyline, but one that will see you follow it right up to the level cap. There’s a good amount of side quests that you will pick up along the way but all feature the same questing formula – fetching, killing and talking – which does little to offer you any sort of ‘wow factor’. The game’s dungeons are available in solo scenarios and group versions, with harder difficulty coming down the line, and for the most part these are fun and have narratives to follow. PvP is a separate matter, and its biggest draw is by far the 3-way faction PvP in a persistent map, that takes inspiration from games like Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online. Overall, there’s sufficient content here to keep you buys for a couple of months at best.

The Negatives

The bad news is, Astellia suffers very much from the same issues that plagued Bless Online at release, and it’s due to the now old Unreal Engine 3. Players can expect to encounter choppy frames, freezes and stuttering in-game during changing zones, combat and other areas. It’s not as bad as Bless, but it could and should be smoother than it is currently.

Pricing

Using a free to play model, Astellia wants to offer global players a chance to ‘Play to Win’. This means no advantages being sold in the cash shop, but you mileage may vary, as there will be some boosts for XP here and there but without outright purchasing of weapons and armor.

The post Is F2P MMORPG Astellia Worth Playing in 2021? appeared first on Mmos World.

You Will Level Pets called Astells

Astellia is a theme-park MMORPG at its core, filled with the usual quest hub crawls from town to town, region to region until you hit the max level of 50. Along the way with your chosen class, players will collect Astels. This are tiny companions, each designed in a way that mimics a combat class. They have abilities, XP progression and Star Grades, which means they can be improved as you level up. They accompany you in your adventures and in battles, are competent with tanking, healing and DPS depending on your set up. You can have one Astel summoned always, but to bring out more depletes your AP meter, which replenishes when you go back into your Astel deck. It’s an interesting take on MMORPG combat systems, and may take some time to get used to, since players will need to juggle between firing off their own class skills and that of their Astels. However, they are very much important to the game’s main story and should be treated as an important progression mechanic throughout. In the Western version, Astels can be acquired through PvE, and they might make an appearance in the cash shop too.

Does It Look Playable?

Most Korean MMORPGs do adequately when it comes to localizing the game in English for a global audience. Unfortunately, last year’s Bless Online launch on Steam left many with doubts about the future of games coming out from the East. The good news is, Astellia seem to have invested plenty into making the game enjoyable in the localization department. No typos, no grammer issues, and best part is that even the voice acting is of bearable quality. As for how the game looks overall, much of it will seem generic. That means, you’ve probably seen similar games looking like it – Blade & Soul, TERA, Ascent: Infinite Realm and Revelation Online – these are just some of the eastern MMORPGs that runs on the same engine, and unfortunately Astellia doesn’t do enough to stand out. Character models are bland, and textures on the highest graphic settings won’t blow you away if you’re expecting a gorgeous game that looks like it was made in 2019. This does not deliver there. Elsewhere, the bloom options and other graphics settings does make the world and environments pretty, and the soundtrack isn’t bad to say the least. Your mileage will vary here, and it’s down to combat and questing to convince you.

The Gist of the Content On Offer

Astellia does feature a main story complete with cinematics, cut-scenes and CGI scenes too. With fully voiced ones appearing once in awhile, it gives the story some sort of credence. The world is reeling from the dark turn of its greatest hero – a woman once revered for stopping the darkness, now turns to evil and once to bring vengeance upon those who treated her wrong. In her wake, Astellians are rising – people born of the stars that can command Astels to save the world. It’s a basic storyline, but one that will see you follow it right up to the level cap. There’s a good amount of side quests that you will pick up along the way but all feature the same questing formula – fetching, killing and talking – which does little to offer you any sort of ‘wow factor’. The game’s dungeons are available in solo scenarios and group versions, with harder difficulty coming down the line, and for the most part these are fun and have narratives to follow. PvP is a separate matter, and its biggest draw is by far the 3-way faction PvP in a persistent map, that takes inspiration from games like Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online. Overall, there’s sufficient content here to keep you buys for a couple of months at best.

Engine Woes?

The bad news is, Astellia suffers very much from the same issues that plagued Bless Online at release, and it’s due to the Unreal Engine 3. Players can expect to encounter choppy frames, freezes and stuttering in-game during changing zones, combat and other areas. It’s not as bad as Bless, but it could and should be smoother than it is currently.

How Much Will It Cost?

Surprisingly, not free. One of the main promises made by Barunson & EA about Astellia’s launch is that it won’t be pay to win. So with a one-time fee, they’re doing away with most of the pay to win systems found in other games like this. It’ll cost you $30 to get in on launch day if you didn’t already have a pre-order pack. Additionally if you want to risk-free route to see if it’s worth it all without paying full price, there’s a new subscription fee of $9.99 a month that gets you access to the MMORPG with no strings attached.

The post If You’re Thinking About Playing Astellia Read This First appeared first on Mmos World.

You Will Level Pets called Astells

Astellia is a theme-park MMORPG at its core, filled with the usual quest hub crawls from town to town, region to region until you hit the max level of 50. Along the way with your chosen class, players will collect Astels. This are tiny companions, each designed in a way that mimics a combat class. They have abilities, XP progression and Star Grades, which means they can be improved as you level up. They accompany you in your adventures and in battles, are competent with tanking, healing and DPS depending on your set up. You can have one Astel summoned always, but to bring out more depletes your AP meter, which replenishes when you go back into your Astel deck. It’s an interesting take on MMORPG combat systems, and may take some time to get used to, since players will need to juggle between firing off their own class skills and that of their Astels. However, they are very much important to the game’s main story and should be treated as an important progression mechanic throughout. In the Western version, Astels can be acquired through PvE, and they might make an appearance in the cash shop too.

Does It Look Playable?

Most Korean MMORPGs do adequately when it comes to localizing the game in English for a global audience. Unfortunately, last year’s Bless Online launch on Steam left many with doubts about the future of games coming out from the East. The good news is, Astellia seem to have invested plenty into making the game enjoyable in the localization department. No typos, no grammer issues, and best part is that even the voice acting is of bearable quality. As for how the game looks overall, much of it will seem generic. That means, you’ve probably seen similar games looking like it – Blade & Soul, TERA, Ascent: Infinite Realm and Revelation Online – these are just some of the eastern MMORPGs that runs on the same engine, and unfortunately Astellia doesn’t do enough to stand out. Character models are bland, and textures on the highest graphic settings won’t blow you away if you’re expecting a gorgeous game that looks like it was made in 2019. This does not deliver there. Elsewhere, the bloom options and other graphics settings does make the world and environments pretty, and the soundtrack isn’t bad to say the least. Your mileage will vary here, and it’s down to combat and questing to convince you.

The Gist of the Content On Offer

Astellia does feature a main story complete with cinematics, cut-scenes and CGI scenes too. With fully voiced ones appearing once in awhile, it gives the story some sort of credence. The world is reeling from the dark turn of its greatest hero – a woman once revered for stopping the darkness, now turns to evil and once to bring vengeance upon those who treated her wrong. In her wake, Astellians are rising – people born of the stars that can command Astels to save the world. It’s a basic storyline, but one that will see you follow it right up to the level cap. There’s a good amount of side quests that you will pick up along the way but all feature the same questing formula – fetching, killing and talking – which does little to offer you any sort of ‘wow factor’. The game’s dungeons are available in solo scenarios and group versions, with harder difficulty coming down the line, and for the most part these are fun and have narratives to follow. PvP is a separate matter, and its biggest draw is by far the 3-way faction PvP in a persistent map, that takes inspiration from games like Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online. Overall, there’s sufficient content here to keep you buys for a couple of months at best.

Engine Woes?

The bad news is, Astellia suffers very much from the same issues that plagued Bless Online at release, and it’s due to the Unreal Engine 3. Players can expect to encounter choppy frames, freezes and stuttering in-game during changing zones, combat and other areas. It’s not as bad as Bless, but it could and should be smoother than it is currently. The good news, most of that took place in CBT 1, but CBT 2 which tested the three-way PvP performed much better.

How Much Will It Cost?

Surprisingly, not free. One of the main promises made by Barunson & EA about Astellia’s launch is that it won’t be pay to win. So with a one-time fee, they’re doing away with most of the pay to win systems found in other games like this. It’ll cost you $30 to get in on launch day if you didn’t already have a pre-order pack. Additionally if you want to risk-free route to see if it’s worth it all without paying full price, there’s a new subscription fee of $9.99 a month that gets you access to the MMORPG with no strings attached.

The post Astellia Steam 2020: What You Should Know appeared first on Mmos World.

Players from the Korean and English communities have come together to provide players with robust gameplay opportunities across a wide variety of PvP and PvE activities.

Today’s launch comes with a pair of special events:

• Dogavi Crescent Event which introduces an event dungeon (similar in theme to the Dogavi Night Market), allowing players to earn Shining Merchant Coins and Holy Order Symbols!
• Taking Care of Pimpi Event: A Giant Spider Boss designed for a 12 person party has been added, allowing players to acquire a Legendary Treasure in exchange for helping Pimpi.

As 2020 marches on, Barunson will offer guilds more content including a special guild arena where 64 players face off against one another in a battle for dominance. Developers have plans to reveal more about this exciting new content in the near future.

Even more awesome updates will be coming throughout the year including a new Astel champion, new dungeons, events, the addition of an Astel Equipment system, a new 12 player raid, and much, much more.

Be sure to join the MMOSWorld community Discord: https://discord.gg/D8MYHkG

The post Astellia Officially Launches On Steam Today appeared first on Mmos World.

The Steam launch of Astellia will feature the same extensive content that has been part of the standalone version of the game. Players from the global communities will come together to provide everyone with robust gameplay opportunities across a wide variety of PvP and PvE content. Everyone will also be able to take part in January’s special events:

• Dogavi Crescent Event which introduces an event dungeon (similar in theme to the Dogavi Night Market), allowing players to earn Shining Merchant Coins and Holy Order Symbols!
• Taking Care of Pimpi Event: A Giant Spider Boss designed for a 12 person party has been added, allowing players to acquire a Legendary Treasure in exchange for helping Pimpi.

Going forward, Barunson will be offering guilds more content that will include a special guild arena that will pit up to 64 players against one another in a battle for dominance. More about this new content will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Throughout 2020, players can look for even more awesome updates including a new Astel champion, new dungeons, events, the addition of an Astel Equipment system, a new 12 player raid, and much, much more.

Be sure to join the MMOSWorld community Discord: https://discord.gg/D8MYHkG

The post Astellia MMORPG Launching On Steam 30th January appeared first on Mmos World.

Secret World Legends/The Secret World

It’s a damn crime the way Funcom treats one of its most unique game IPs. The Secret World is a modern day, urban horror fantasy MMORPG with a heavy emphasis on narrative, world building and its Lovecraftian lore that involves three factions that rule “the secret world”. The Illuminati, Templars and Dragon are what players choose to represent, each offering a different taste to how the flavor text and dialogue cut-scenes with your handlers play out through the game.

When launched in 2012, TSW thought the subscription model would work, but as we’ve seen with so many MMORPGs that tried it after World of Warcraft, many just cannot sustain it. Thus it went buy to play, and eventually relaunched itself as Secret World Legends in 2017 with an all new free to play model. Funcom’s been quiet in the last two years about more story content or PvE content in-game, which is driving players away, and even the more hardcore ones away from the game. We did get Moons of Madness, a 2019 standalone game that’s based on the Secret World Lore, but that’s hardly new content and not enough certainly for the faithful players. While lack of content is probably the main reason for the doom and gloom, overall the game hasn’t aged well and the relaunch didn’t quite fix some issues that many felt was holding the game back and that’s the combat system.

Well here we are in 2020, with absolutely no news on whether or not Funcom intends to breathe new life into Secret World Legends and it’s safe to say this one will remain in maintenance mode until its eventual shut down. If nothing’s announced for it by the summer, I worry this will be one of the MMORPG causalities in 2020, but it shouldn’t affect Funcom – they’ve been changing their strategy, with a renewed focus on publishing (Conan, Dune, that weird Xcom like game) that’s bringing in the money, alongside Conan Exiles. It’s a shame that its other full MMORPG Age of Conan is going through something similar too.

Astellia

I’m not going to sugarcoat this one – Astellia launched in the West way too late. This Korean MMORPG generated a decent amount of buzz when it launch in September last year. It’s buy to play model and non-pay to win approach was commendable, but it’s too high a buy-in price for what it offers.

It’s a theme park MMORPG with old-school tab target combat, and players take on the role of heroes that can control Astels – little pets born and given powers from the stars. Your combat abilities are based on your chosen cookie cutter class, but the unique selling factor is that your Astells can be summoned in combat, each offering more unique skills to use and passive bonuses to your build output as well. While it works and is fun especially in group content like dungeons and PvP, there’s nothing else about the game that truly stands out from its competitors, who are letting players play for free instead.

The graphics and engine looks dated and while better than TERA and AION, still feels like it belongs in the last generation, and not worth the $30 or the optional subscription to play. The bad news is, the game has already shut down the Korean version (Nexon), and Barunson & EA who are self publishing in the West are assuring players that this won’t happen to the new version too. Good to know, but how long will it last? Which is why I feel that if Astellia came out earlier around the period when Korean theme park MMORPGs were blowing up globally, it would have given the rest a run for their money.

The post MMORPGS I Worry About For 2020 And Beyond appeared first on Mmos World.

Throughout the remainder of 2019, Barunson has big plans for players. Here’s just a taste of what’s to come:

• Avalon is coming this month! The large-scale tri-faction PvP battleground is nearly here! Once launched, players will be able to take part in a weeklong pre-season kick off event to earn a variety of unique special event rewards. Read more about Avalon here.
• Miodan Mine will open in December as a new end-game content zone. It offers max level players a chance to participate in a wide variety of activities that can reward some sweet, sweet loot including class-specific treasures and tokens that can be redeemed for high-level consumables. Read the developer diary detailing Miodan Mine here.
• A seasonal holiday-themed hunting ground will open where players can earn Christmas holiday items and goodies. Braga Clause will bring holiday cheer and seasonal quests for all good little Astellians.

Heading into 2020, players can look for even more awesome content including a new Astel champion, a Guild Arena, new dungeons, events, the addition of an Astel Equipment system, a new 12 player raid, and much, much more.

The post Astellia Announces Content Roadmap For This Month Heading Into 2020 appeared first on Mmos World.

First, the Halloween seasonal event will go live on Tuesday, October 22nd. During the event, players will be able to take part in Halloween themed events, eat way too much candy, and obtain a brand new limited time mount. While there are no further details about what the mount looks like or how to acquire it, we expect it to be a spooky themed mount that players will enjoy. Additionally for PvP players,  the first season of the new Ladder system has officially started, and participants can earn zender through weekly prizes along with special rewards at the end of the season dependent on their rank.

For more information, check out the official forum post here.

The post Astellia Reveals Halloween Event and First Season of PvP Duel Ladders appeared first on Mmos World.

The Lord of the Rings Online: New Expansion Pre-orders

LOTRO is a classic MMORPG that’s still rocking it and to prove it, they’ve just opened up the pre-orders for its latest expansion dropping next month. The Minas Morgul expansion will introduce a new playable race, the Stout-axe Dwarves. In addition to that, there’s two new regions – Morgul Vale and Mordor Besieged, on top of 7 new instances for players to run. Elsewhere, the level cap will be increasing from 120 to 130, and guild crafting has gotten some love so crafters can get some rare items. Check out the pre-orders here.

Astellia Launches Officially

Korean MMORPG Astellia has finally arrived in the West! The game begin its headstart last week and there are already players at the cap of 50. Today, the game will open its doors to everyone. You can jump in with a buy-to play pack or a subscription, whichever you prefer. Astellia promises a no pay-to-win MMORPG that offers both PvE and PvP content. The game centers around Astells – companions that you collect, gear and grow to enhance your own abilities and play styles.

Dauntless Launches with 15M Players

Phoenix Labs officially launches its popular co-op action RPG, Dauntless, with its 1.0 update. With more than 15 million players in Early Access, this milestone marks the beginning of a new chapter for the ever-evolving online game. Today, Dauntless also received its largest seasonal expansion to date, “Aether Unbound,” which features an all-new weapon, Behemoth, Hunt Pass, Bounty system and more. Dauntless is among the first games to feature full cross-platform support and is available to download now for free on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Elder Scrolls Online Discusses Class Identity

ESO’s developers Zenimax Online Studios put out a really thorough discussion about the game’s Classes. The devs outlined their visions and plans for class identity in this MMORPG moving forward and it’s a fantastic read for everyone that plays the game. Here’s a snippet:

What we don’t want is to create scenarios where, to be effective, you feel obligated to fill a majority of your hotbar slots with non-class abilities. Forfeiting your class identity should be an option, but not a requirement to engage in PvE or PvP content. We acknowledge this is not the current reality for many classes and builds, and it’s one of the major areas for improvement we intend to tackle.

Read the full article here.

TERA Reveals Skywatch Finale

Launching in October for North American players,  TERA’s upcoming Aerial Island marks the end of the ‘Skywatch’ series of updates with the addition of the floating region of Exodor, containing four new quest-filled zones and the title’s signature Big-Ass Monsters (BAMs), as well as new and updated dungeons and more powerful gear for players to earn. To prepare players for their high-flying adventures En Masse is hosting weeks of in-game events to help players level and gear up for the challenges that lay ahead. These include leveling events, enchanting events and even dungeon events so be sure to make use of it!

The post Top 5 MMORPG News And Highlights This Week! appeared first on Mmos World.

You Will Level Pets called Astells

Astellia is a theme-park MMORPG at its core, filled with the usual quest hub crawls from town to town, region to region until you hit the max level of 50. Along the way with your chosen class, players will collect Astels. This are tiny companions, each designed in a way that mimics a combat class. They have abilities, XP progression and Star Grades, which means they can be improved as you level up. They accompany you in your adventures and in battles, are competent with tanking, healing and DPS depending on your set up. You can have one Astel summoned always, but to bring out more depletes your AP meter, which replenishes when you go back into your Astel deck. It’s an interesting take on MMORPG combat systems, and may take some time to get used to, since players will need to juggle between firing off their own class skills and that of their Astels. However, they are very much important to the game’s main story and should be treated as an important progression mechanic throughout. In the Western version, Astels can be acquired through PvE, and they might make an appearance in the cash shop too.

Does It Look Playable?

Most Korean MMORPGs do adequately when it comes to localizing the game in English for a global audience. Unfortunately, last year’s Bless Online launch on Steam left many with doubts about the future of games coming out from the East. The good news is, Astellia seem to have invested plenty into making the game enjoyable in the localization department. No typos, no grammer issues, and best part is that even the voice acting is of bearable quality. As for how the game looks overall, much of it will seem generic. That means, you’ve probably seen similar games looking like it – Blade & Soul, TERA, Ascent: Infinite Realm and Revelation Online – these are just some of the eastern MMORPGs that runs on the same engine, and unfortunately Astellia doesn’t do enough to stand out. Character models are bland, and textures on the highest graphic settings won’t blow you away if you’re expecting a gorgeous game that looks like it was made in 2019. This does not deliver there. Elsewhere, the bloom options and other graphics settings does make the world and environments pretty, and the soundtrack isn’t bad to say the least. Your mileage will vary here, and it’s down to combat and questing to convince you.

The Gist of the Content On Offer

Astellia does feature a main story complete with cinematics, cut-scenes and CGI scenes too. With fully voiced ones appearing once in awhile, it gives the story some sort of credence. The world is reeling from the dark turn of its greatest hero – a woman once revered for stopping the darkness, now turns to evil and once to bring vengeance upon those who treated her wrong. In her wake, Astellians are rising – people born of the stars that can command Astels to save the world. It’s a basic storyline, but one that will see you follow it right up to the level cap. There’s a good amount of side quests that you will pick up along the way but all feature the same questing formula – fetching, killing and talking – which does little to offer you any sort of ‘wow factor’. The game’s dungeons are available in solo scenarios and group versions, with harder difficulty coming down the line, and for the most part these are fun and have narratives to follow. PvP is a separate matter, and its biggest draw is by far the 3-way faction PvP in a persistent map, that takes inspiration from games like Guild Wars 2 and Elder Scrolls Online. Overall, there’s sufficient content here to keep you buys for a couple of months at best.

Engine Woes?

The bad news is, Astellia suffers very much from the same issues that plagued Bless Online at release, and it’s due to the Unreal Engine 3. Players can expect to encounter choppy frames, freezes and stuttering in-game during changing zones, combat and other areas. It’s not as bad as Bless, but it could and should be smoother than it is currently. The good news, most of that took place in CBT 1, but CBT 2 which tested the three-way PvP performed much better.

How Much Will It Cost?

Surprisingly, not free. One of the main promises made by Barunson & EA about Astellia’s launch is that it won’t be pay to win. So with a one-time fee, they’re doing away with most of the pay to win systems found in other games like this. It’ll cost you $30 to get in on launch day if you didn’t already have a pre-order pack. Additionally if you want to risk-free route to see if it’s worth it all without paying full price, there’s a new subscription fee of $9.99 a month that gets you access to the MMORPG with no strings attached.

The post Astellia 2019: Get Ready For Headstart With This Quick Overview appeared first on Mmos World.